Thomas County cat., 1887-11-17
SWEET POTATOES


An Excellent Method for Keeping Thorn
Through the Winter.
1write confidently on this subject
from experience and from inspecting
the cellars of large commercial grow
ers. Nine-tenths of those who raise
sweet potatoes suppose that if frost
kills the vines and they are not cut off
at once, the crop is ruined and will
not keep. and it is common to see
farmers working till dark cutting the
vines from their sweet potatoes if they
anticipate frost; or out at daylight the
next morning working to get them
cut off before the sun willis them. A
gentleman near Marietta, q. who
raises and winters from $500 to t. 600
bushels. tells me he considers frost
an advantage, rs it kills the vines
and hastens the maturity of the
crop. The essentials to insure keeping
are: l. That the potatoes be fully ma
tured; so it is rot advisable not to dig
too early; 2. careful handling; it will
not answer to plow them out. cutting
and bruising them. and then pour
them from baskets and shovel them Us
you can common potatoes; ). dig In
sunny weather. so that all external
moisture will be thickly and thorough
ly dried; and they should be taken at
once to the place where they are to be
kept. for the less they are handled the
better they will keep. If large guam
tity is to be put in 4 cellar no artificial
heat will be needed and no p cking
used among them. When only fam
lily supply is to be put away l would
wrap each one separately in newspa-
per. pack in boxes or barrels and sprin-
kle layers of perfectly dry sawdust be-
tween the layers of potatoes; and to
keep them all winter it is necessary that
they be in 4 room with fire heat. The
range of temperature may be from 40
to 90 degrees, but the nearer you
can keep to 80 degrees the better; and
for a short time it may go a few de-
grees below 40 degrees or above 60
degrees without damage.
4 large bulk of sweet potatoes in Il
cellar filling it nearly full will gencr-
ate their own heat. ard when first put
in the temperature will rise i'll the bin
to % or 80 degrees, and it will be neces-
sary to keep the cellar opened so rs
to give ventilation, and all through the
winter there must be provision for,
and attention paid to, ventilation. l
visited in February, when mercury was
20 degrees below zero, a cellar contain
ing 2,500 bushels, and ON entering
the barn room above them l found Il
circular hole large enough so that a
hogshead was fitted into it for vcnti-
lator. This hogshead had both heads
removed and was stuffed with hay to
keep the cold from settling down in
the cellar, and that morning it was
smoking like furnace. Entering the
cellar l found the sweet potatoes
stored in bins six feet square, made
with Slated sides SO as to leave cracks
two inches wide at intervals of three
inches. No packing or absorbent was
used with the potatoes except that the
top was covered about three inches
deep with planins-mill shavings. and
these were almost dripping wet, but on
carefully opening them down to the po-
tatoes, they were dry and as fresh and
plump as the day they were dug. The
air of the cellar was so moist that the
water stood in drops all over the cell
ing and dripped down the posts that
supported the bins. On looking at the
thermometer found that the temper
ature was Sc degrees. There seems to
be no difficulty whatever in keeping
sweet potatoes if these conditions are
complied with. The cellar ought to be
rat-proof, as rats will be likely to dam
age the potatoes badly. Sweet pota-
toes kept without fire lose little by
shrinkage. and are not liable to rot so
quickly when taken out of storage in
spring as those kept by fire heat.-Cor.
~ Y. Tribune.